victory_road | Ninth Sacrament: Lighthearted

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Ninth Sacrament: Lighthearted

Waking up was normally just what it was. A bleary start to a new day, usually with one of his Pokemon prodding or pulling at his blankets to wake him up, hungry for breakfast or just to get him up. Today wasn't much different in that regard; he was woken up by a low, rumbling Luxray, who was pushing her head against his and half on his bed, forepaws pressing down on the mattress. But, he actually felt...He felt actually alive.

Walter didn't feel empty and listless. Like he was just dragging along, waiting for the heavy weight on his back to overpower him. It was still there but it was lighter. Something he could push to the back of his mind and not have it cloud and interfere with his thoughts. As he got up and ready, he showered and brushed out his hair, before pausing and tying it behind him. Some of his fringe still escaped and framed his face. He'd never actually tried doing anything with it before but this. It felt good. He did need to trim it soon - he hadn't cut it since he had arrived here. It'd grown out a bit too much. He sighed, stretching out with a small smile. The sun seemed bright and warm. He could feel it in his chest, somehow.

[ ACTION ]

If you go around Ecruteak, you might spot him. He's not wearing his coat for the first time while outside, his Pokemon still accompanying him. Joseph is clinging off his shoulder, occasionally dropping down to bolt over to something interesting before running back and jumping up to Walter again, while Assumption walks alongside him, tail wagging with his stride. It's obvious in his demeanour that he's not as closed off as he normally is, glancing into shop windows with more open curiousity and walking with less nerves.

[ VIDEO ]

[ The candid video shows a garden outside, with many of Walter's Pokemon enjoying the sunshine while he's present. Nothing too unusual there...except that Walter is cheerful. He's clearly playing with his Pokemon, smiling and letting them jump up or press against him. He eventually sits, returning their attention and petting the ones that come close to him. He even reaches out to gently touch Jennifer and Robbie - still nervous, but not wanting to leave them out. ]

(( OOC: Walter is affected by the Sunny Day Freaky Friday event! Feel free to contact him while he's...not being all mopey and sad O:! ))

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Being a gym leader kept Sion busy, but certainly didn't mean he had no free time at all. If nothing else, Ryner had insisted Sion have regular time off, and the gym's schedule meant sometimes he was simply, well, off duty. Which meant that, if all the chores at home were done, sometimes he'd go spend some time in Ecruteak, looking for books to add to the library, or just appreciating the city's history.

So it was on one such stroll that he happened to spot a face he recognized.

"Ah, hello... Walter, isn't it? I didn't know you were in town."

"Hello. Sion, right?" Walter answered politely. Joseph 'nya'd!' at Sion from his shoulder with Assumption watching him curiously from his side.

"I live in this city now. It's quieter than Goldenrod." And still nearby a Rocket headquarters he could do research work in. He'd prefer an even smaller city but that was neither here nor there at present.

"That's right." Sion nodded in greeting to the pokemon, as well, before turning his attention back to Walter

"Oh? Then I suppose we're nearly neighbors, then. Ryner and I live just south of the city."

"Ryner?" Did he know Ryner? Not that he recalled. "I'm nearby the Burned Tower, close to the woods. It's very peaceful. More ghosts too."

And to anyone who knew him or his team, it was quite obvious that Walter was fond of ghost-types. Assumption himself being a ghost, he smiled and nodded in agreement. Lots of ghost friends by the Burned Tower!

"A friend of mine from my world," Sion explained. Which was a bit of an understatement, really, but still true enough. "We've always rather liked how much history the city has, ourselves."

History, and strong ties to several legendary pokemon.

"And the fact that it's much quieter than someplace like Goldenrod, of course," he added.

"I haven't seen much of the history, outside of the Burned Tower. I wonder if the ghosts there remember the fire." He remembered his own death. But ghost Pokemon are a strange thing. Some were said to be spirits of people or Pokemon and others were possessed objects, yet all could reproduce the same as any other Pokemon? Was it a form of reincarnation? And then there was Assumption, who had evolved to become a ghost.

"I mostly enjoy the quiet. My Pokemon wanted to be close to Goldenrod, otherwise I would have traveled more before deciding where to stay."

"Oh? There's quite a bit to see, if you're interested. Even the architecture itself is apparently quite old compared to much of the rest of the region, for example."

Not to mention the dance theatre and other such old establishments.

"I can understand the sentiment. I grew up in a city, but compared to the larger ones here..." Sion trailed off with a shrug. "The convenient access to Goldenrod is also a benefit though, yes. It means that should we wish to visit Kanto, we can arrive in Saffron in only a day or two."

"Kanto...I haven't been over there yet. I did consider it." Back when he was deciding where to go after the Henry Incident. But he had no idea what to expect in Kanto and had at least visited Ecruteak a few times. His Pokemon were especially against the idea of going to a new region, given they had friends here in Johto.

"I was raised in the woods of Silent Hill; it was a small town beside a large lake. I did live in a larger town when I attended university but...it didn't feel right." If anything it was alienating to be so alone when there were lots more people around, but maybe it was the large number of people that made him feel so alone...who knew.

"It's not a bad place to visit, even if you aren't collecting the badges there. Some of the cities are even larger than Goldenrod, though..."

Saffron in particular was a monstrosity of concrete, metal, and glass. But some of the other places were nice, as Sion recalled.

"Although traveling certainly isn't for everyone, I imagine."

[It's such a nice day today, so nice that absolutely everything just seems great. And Envy can't help but feel like he should share his unbelievably great mood with the network.]

[...well, looks like really the only person on here at the moment is Walter.]

[But they've got a truce, right? And he looks like he's having a great time too! No real reason not to talk to him about it!]

Hey! You're enjoying the weather too?

[ They do have a truce! So Walter smiles and nods when he sees Envy, although the Pokemon he had on his lap, a Vulpix, immediately ducked down and tried to hide between his legs while using her tails as a fan to hide herself. ]

Yes, it's so warm. I'm surprised Darkness is here and isn't on his way to your house right now. [ Sure enough, Darkness is perching in the background with two other birds, chattering with them. ]

Well, he can go over there whenever he wants. I left Lyra home while we're gone because she doesn't like camping. Not enough glitter out here.

But I think she's missing out, because the road's actually pretty good today! Nothing to complain about at all.

You're traveling? I'd like to do more of that. But, right now, it's nice to have a place to call my own. And my Pokemon are happy too. Darkness insisted we stay close to Goldenrod, so he could see Lyra and the children.

[ He idly pets his Vulpix, who peeks at Envy from between her tails. ]

Yeah, with Heather and Al--he's my half-brother. We're getting badges again now that it's finally warm.

[Tomorrow Envy's going to be kicking himself for telling Walter all about who's where, but right now it doesn't matter!]

Probably better that way, he'd wear his wings out flying back and forth if you were any farther.

True. And so would the children when they follow him here.

[ He'd be kicking himself for this later too, but today, why worry? He called over to his birds and they came and fluttered over to him; Darkness, a Dartrix and a Natu. ]

These are my other birds; Reed and Wisdom. I didn't intend to have this many, but I'm fond of them all. [ Reed, the Dartrix, puffed himself up very happily and hooted! The Natu, Wisdom, hopped closer to the screen, peering at Envy with utmost curiosity. And Darkness gave a polite nod. Hello Lyra's Trainer. ]

[TODAY HAS BEEN SO NICE HASN'T IT BEEN NICE, Asriel would call it a super nice day. And seeing Walter on the network being happy? It makes the day even that much better.]

Hi, Mister Walter!

Hello Asriel! [ It's his little friend! ] How are you today?

I'm great! [And he is! Today is so bright and warm and nice after all that snow and fog and rain - and his FRIEND is on the network!] How're you?

I feel...really good. I just wanted to be outside in the sun, the moment I got up. And I think my Pokemon are enjoying the sunshine too. [ He draws focus to his Pokemon and yep, they sure are! Several are goofing around, some are lazing and snoozing in the sunlight - even his spookier mons were playing, flitting from shadow to shadow of the trees. ]

It's a really great day to be in the sun, isn't it? I wanna go out for a walk with everybody later, too.

[When they're up and about and just as cheerful as he is.]

I like all the weather, but today seems super special! It hasn't felt this nice since summer ended!

A walk sounds lovely...through the forest maybe. Onto one of the routes. [ Being cheerful didn't exactly boost his desire to be the life of the party. ]

I haven't known a feeling like this before. It's a pity we couldn't spend some of the time together. [ Certain Pokemon of Walter's have noticed Asriel and recognise him! Wisdom, Eileen and Doll come over, grinning and waving, calling to their friends in his team. ] I think they agree.

Aw, it's okay. We can always play another day!

[Even this can't get him down. At the sound of being called, Gracie perks up from where she'd dozed off in Asriel's hair and waves cheerfully. The others, she says, are asleep, but she'll pass their greetings along!]

I think we're just gonna walk around the city. It's so much easier with the snow melting away! I hope we can go to lots of places when it's springtime - there's so much of Johto I haven't seen!

Me too. I've done the circle route, around Goldenrod, Violet City and Azalea. But there's towns to the left and right of Ecruteak, and Kanto. [ He had actually debated going there, after the incident with Henry, to put as much distance between him and Henry as possible. He'd been forced to decide against it, largely due to his Pokemon, but he still wondered what was out there. ]

[ His Pokemon don't mind that most of Asriel's are sleeping. They exchange greetings with Gracie happily. ] Oh, I never showed you many of my Pokemon- this is Eileen and Wisdom. You met Doll.

Hi, Eileen! Hi, Wisdom! [Asriel waves to them. This is so great! Look at all of Walter's Pokemon friends!]

Whoa, that's cool! Me and Frisk have been to those, too, but not Ecruteak...or the Kanto place! I hope we can go there this year! That would be awesome!

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Ninth Sacrament: Lighthearted

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